Kobe Bryant knows exactly who he'd like to coach the Lakers now that Mike Brown has been fired. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea, US Presswire

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES -- If the latest Lakers drama was told by way of the team-issued quote sheet on Friday night, one never would have known what really transpired in the aftermath of coach Mike Brown's firing earlier in the day.

According to the documentation following a much-needed 101-77 rout over Golden State that improved Los Angeles to 2-4, Kobe Bryant's time with the media was spent discussing 1) interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff and 2) the latest performances of Pau Gasol, Darius Morris, and Jodie Meeks.

In truth, however, the possible return of former Lakers coach Phil Jackson was the only topic of discussion that truly mattered.

Bryant made it clear that his retired mentor is atop his list of coaching candidates to replace Brown, wasting no time before paying tribute to Jackson and openly campaigning for him to return. And with strong indications that Jackson is No. 1 on both Bryant's and the front office's list, the wait now begins to see who comes next.

"You guys know how I feel about Phil," Bryant said. "The one thing that's kind of always bothered me is that his last year (in 2011) I wasn't able to give him my normal self, you know what I mean? Because I was playing on one leg. That's always eaten away at me. The last year of his career I wasn't able to give him everything I had."

Jackson's exit was unflattering, indeed, with his team being swept by the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals, and former Lakers Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom being ejected for bush-league moves in Game 4.

"He's too great of a coach to go out that way," Bryant said. "That's my personal sentiment. For me, it was just â?¦ I took it to heart because I couldn't give it everything that I had, because my knee was shot. That's always kind of bothered me."

With Jackson considered the top priority in the search, former Suns and Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni -- just like every candidate who hasn't won five championships with the Lakers -- is believed to be second in this race. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers have already reached out to gauge the level of Jackson's interest. Jackson's agent, Todd Musburger, did not return a call for comment, but Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak made it clear early in the day that Jackson was a possibility.

"When there's a coach like Phil Jackson, one of the all-time greats, and he's not coaching, you'd be negligent not to be aware that he's out there," Kupchak told reporters. "As I mentioned earlier, we're putting together our list and attack plan. We have not reached out to anybody at this time."

Bryant's estimation is that Jackson's decision will come down to his health.

"Knowing him the way I do, I think it's really just a matter of health," Bryant said. "If he feels physically up to doing it, he's a perfectionist and we all know he's a perfectionist. If he feels like he can come here and give what he demands of himself, then I think he'd be interested."

The longer Bryant spoke, the more he reminded everyone listening of the bond he had with Jackson that clearly has not been broken. Jackson had reared Bryant as a teenager after he came out of Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, and the two grew together long past those dark days when the coach had called his complicated pupil "uncoachable" in a memoir written after his first retirement in 2004. Bryant mentioned his respect for Brown, the coach who was hired in the summer of 2011 without the star player being consulted but who he generally got along with. But his affection for Jackson dominated his thoughts and, thus, his words.

"He teaches guys to be thinkers," Bryant said of Jackson. "He teaches us the little nuances, the details, the intricacies of the game that just a lot of people know. It's no fault of their own, but when it comes to basketball he's at a genius level. It's tough for anybody to step in those shoes afterwards (with) players who were raised from that tutelage."

Brown learned that much the hard way, always impressing his bosses with his dedication and work ethic but falling short when it came to the intangibles that only Jackson can bring. Brown's decision to install the read-and-react "Princeton" offense clearly backfired, as players struggled to get comfortable in the system early on, which had everything to do with the slow start.

A Jackson return, of course, would mean the return of the "Triangle" system also considered read-and-react. Nonethless, Bryant is confident these Lakers could make it work.

"Are you doubting the Zen Master?" Bryant quipped when asked if Jackson entering without a training camp would be challenging.

Yet with the question remaining about whether Jackson will be willing to return, Bryant discussed other possibilities as well. A person close to D'Antoni said he is interested in the job and that his recent knee replacement surgery would not be so problematic. D'Antoni, who resigned from the Knicks in March, coached new point guard Steve Nash in Phoenix and is known to have a good relationship with Bryant from their time spent together with Team USA, as well. Bryant, in fact, has a high opinion of D'Antoni dating back to his days growing up in Italy and idolizing the then-Milan star.

"There's some great coaches out there, and (D'Antoni would) be another guy who I'd be absolutely in favor of," Bryant said. "I mean, I love D'Antoni and what he brings, and everybody here knows my affinity for Brian Shaw, as well."

After Shaw was let go once Jackson retired, Shaw joined Indiana as a lead assistant under head coach Frank Vogel and remains with the Pacers. Former Utah coach Jerry Sloan also could be a candidate.